Ophir, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Ophir is the name of a locality in New South Wales
, Australia
in Cabonne Shire
.
Ophir is located near the Macquarie River
northeast of the city of Orange
. Ophir is the place where gold
was first discovered in New South Wales
in 1851, leading to the Australian gold rushes
.
The Hatton brothers, Will and Jack, and Edward Hargraves
found payable gold in February 1851 at the Ophir gold diggings, located at the confluence of Summer Hill Creek and Lewis Ponds Creek 33°10′7.68"S 149°14′19.68"E. Hargraves was awarded £10,500 (worth $1,125,434 in 2004 values) by the NSW Government.
Ophir was named after Jack Hatton's dad Ophir Hatton
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in Cabonne Shire
Cabonne Shire, New South Wales
The Cabonne Shire is a Local Government Area in the Central West of New South Wales. It is on the Mitchell Highway and the Broken Hill railway line.The council seat resides within one of the two largest villages in the Shire, Molong...
.
Ophir is located near the Macquarie River
Macquarie River
The Macquarie River is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales. Its headwaters rise in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon. The river travels generally northwest past the towns of Bathurst, Wellington, Dubbo, Narromine, and Warren to the Macquarie Marshes...
northeast of the city of Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
. Ophir is the place where gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was first discovered in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 1851, leading to the Australian gold rushes
Australian gold rushes
The Australian gold rush started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Edward Hargraves called Ophir.Eight months later, gold was found in Victoria...
.
The Hatton brothers, Will and Jack, and Edward Hargraves
Edward Hargraves
Edward Hammond Hargraves was a gold prospector who claimed to have found gold in Australia in 1851, starting the Australian gold rush....
found payable gold in February 1851 at the Ophir gold diggings, located at the confluence of Summer Hill Creek and Lewis Ponds Creek 33°10′7.68"S 149°14′19.68"E. Hargraves was awarded £10,500 (worth $1,125,434 in 2004 values) by the NSW Government.
Ophir was named after Jack Hatton's dad Ophir Hatton